“I Love”  Monty Kelly  Essex Records  “A High-Fidelity Collection of Sensations in Sounds and Moods”  (A nice tag line for LP Cover Lover too).  This is one of a classic series of 10″ and 45 RPM records on the Essex label.  Each with a beautiful cheesecake model and fifties mod cover.   What an outfit!  Bachelor Pad gold!

(25 votes, average: 3.96 out of 5)

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The Dave Brubeck Quartet featuring Paul Desmond  “Jazz Red Hot and Cool”  Columbia Records  An intimate live recording of a small club date at Basin Street in New York City in 1955.  Set includes Lover, Little Girl Blue, Sometimes I’m Happy, The Duke, Indiana, and Love Walked In. This version of the quartet included Bob Bates on Bass and Joe Dodge on Drums.  This is still early Brubeck, with Desmond (blurred there on the left of the cover), but before the “classic” Quartet with Eugene Wright on bass and Joe Morello on Drums in 1958.  (That is the group that played on “Time Out” and the classic sixties “time signature” series of popular Brubeck releases.  Perhaps the last, big sellers in the genre prior to Motown and The Beatles invasion which knocked so many brilliant, jazz musicians to the sidelines of popular culture.)  On a personal note, I pulled this out of my stepfather’s collection at twelve, so the cover is burned in my memory.   Once – perhaps still – you could find this cover in 9 out of 10 dollar bins.

(33 votes, average: 3.39 out of 5)

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“Sing It Again, Sam!”  The inimitable song stylings of Sam Sacks  Arliss Records  For those unfamiliar with the wonder of WFMU’s Beware of the Blog let this be a welcome introduction.  Go to BOTB and listen to Sam’s fantastically awful mauling of standards.  A private recording on par with the best of the worst from Mrs. Miller, Lucia Pamela and Florence Foster Jenkins.  I gotta find a copy!

(28 votes, average: 3.96 out of 5)

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“Today’s Top Hits” by the HOMESTEAD (?) on Homestead Records (of course) 1979  Featuring bad recreations of chart toppers of the day, like Randy Newman’s “Short People,” one of the greatest politically incorrect songs of all time.

(30 votes, average: 3.77 out of 5)

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“Deanie”  Heaven’s Hall of Fame!!

(27 votes, average: 4.22 out of 5)

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“Heaven’s Satellite”  with The Good News Singers from Bakersfield, California.  Vision Records  This one is highly sought after and rarely found.

(31 votes, average: 4.13 out of 5)

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“Music To Dream By”  Valentino and His Orchestra   GMS Records   An exceptional example of a 1950’s cheesecake cover on a record of quite unexceptional music.  Looks quite common but it’s really very rare.

(33 votes, average: 4.21 out of 5)

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Etta James “At Last!”  Argo Lp 4003 (1961)  Designed by Don Bronstein.   What an album.  What a song.   What a performer.  What a cover.  For every Hall of Fame.

(15 votes, average: 4.00 out of 5)

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Here’s my copy of Esquerita! (1959)  Capitol Records  Esquerita was an obvious influence on Little Richard.  Like Richard, a flaming, shrieking, piano-pounding rock and roll originator.  Amazing that he was on Capitol records with label mates like Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole and Peggy Lee.  I put this one in a nice wood frame I found in a Berkeley record shop.

Tracks include:  Hey Miss Lucy / She Left Me Crying / Hole In My Heart / Believe Me When I Say Rock ‘n’ Roll / I Need You / Why Did It Take You So Long / Get Back Baby / I’m Batty over Hattie / Gettin’ Plenty of Lovin’

(32 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)

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Here’s a rare one for sure.  This is Jayne Mansfield in fine form on the cover of a British compilation called “5 Star Party”  featuring cuts by Cliff Richard and the Shadows, Eddie Calvert, Russ Corway, The Dave Clark Five and Victor Silvester.  Columbia EMI Records.

(35 votes, average: 4.29 out of 5)

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